To learn more about the region's ecosystem, the research team gathered sediment samples from the sea floor, which will help reveal the water's nutrient content. Somehow, nutrients - either in the form of phytoplankton or organic particles flushed to sea with the ice above - are being dragged thousands of feet below the ice shelves of Antarctica to feed the bottom-dwelling creatures there, according to the AWI researchers. So, finding communities of phytoplankton-gobbling sea creatures living in the darkness deep below the Antarctic ice is counter-intuitive, to say the least. Phytoplankton rely on sunshine for photosynthesis and tend to float in the upper part of the ocean, where the water is sunniest, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. ![]() These animals (which include corals and sponges) perch in place and wait for nutrients to come to them, usually in the form of phytoplankton - a type of microscopic marine algae. Its an iceberg, shared online by NASA last Wednesday, that appears to be in the shape of a perfect rectangle with smooth, even walls, and 90-degree angles. © 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc.That discovery, like the Polarstern's new survey of the Weddell Sea floor, threw researchers for a bit of a loop, mainly due to the presence of stationary filter feeders. “It’s important to monitor the frequency of all iceberg calving, but these are all expected for now.”ĮSA said the title of “largest iceberg” was previously held by the almost 1,500-square-mile large A-23A. “A76 and A74 are both just part of natural cycles on ice shelves that hadn’t calved anything big for decades,” British Antarctic Survey’s Laura Gerrish tweeted on May 14. Nevertheless, experts told The New York Times on Thursday that A-76 may not have separated from the shelf strictly due to climate change. And over the longer term, of course, it will have wide-ranging impacts in different locations around Antarctica.” “Climate is responsible for these changes. “Parts of Antarctica are in arrears, and that’s largely a consequence of increase in temperature or large calving events that have removed ice and destabilized the ice shelves themselves,” ESA senior scientist Mark Drinkwater told The Associated Press. ![]() Quick image from showing #Sentinel1 imagery from today (14th). Scientists reported an increase of 0.8 trillion tons per year in the 1990s to 1.3 trillion tons per year by 2017.Ī January paper published in the journal Science Advances found that ice losses have soared from 760 billion tons annually in the 1990s to more than 1.2 trillion tons in the 2010s.Īnother big iceberg calving event in #Antarctica! #A76 has calved from the Ronne Ice Shelf and is currently the biggest iceberg in the world, taking the record from neighbouring A23a. ![]() While ice shelves pretty regularly lose ice, scientists tie worryingly rapid loss to the impacts of a warming climate.Ī University of Leeds study from January reported that the rate at which ice is disappearing has increased markedly. The 2,300-square-mile A-68 iceberg that calved from Antarctica’s Larsen C ice shelf in 2017 has since melted away. Thwaites is part of what's described the 'weak underbelly' of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. LiveScience reported on Thursday that the event would not directly impact sea levels. The warm water found flowing under Thwaites Glacier in western Antarctica helps explain its rapid melting. ![]() The 1,668 square-mile ice mass split from the Ronne Ice Shelf into the Weddell Sea and is anticipated to eventually drift into the South Atlantic where it would disintegrate. It was also confirmed by the US National Ice Center (USNIC), which tracks and names Antarctic icebergs that are at least 10 nautical miles long or 20 square nautical miles large. The iceberg is named A-76 and is more than 40 times the size of Paris, larger than the state of Rhode Island and 73 times as big as Manhattan.Ī-76, named for the quadrant in which it was first located - was first seen by researchers at the British Antarctic Survey using ESA’s Sentinel 1A satellite. Mars rover 'Curiosity' spotted from space as it climbs 'Mont Mercou'Īna forms in Atlantic, becomes first named system of 2021Īlaska Airlines makes emergency landing after sparks sightedĪ massive iceberg that broke off an Antarctic shelf earlier this month has been identified by the European Space Agency (ESA) as the world’s largest.
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